Thursday, July 26, 2012

The Japan Rail Pass, which is issued by the JR (Japan Railway) Group, offers travelers excellent value for money and convenience. The Rail Pass enables the almost unlimited use of JR trains and its affiliated bus and ferry services within various areas of Japan. The Japan Rail Pass can also be used for the Tokyo monorail to Haneda Airport and the Narita Express to Narita Airport.

The Japan Rail Pass is available only to people from abroad who wish to travel to Japan as “temporary visitors” for sightseeing. The pass must be purchased before entering Japan.

Japan’s four major islands, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku are covered by an extensive and reliable network of railways. About 70 percent of Japan’s railway network is owned and operated by the Japan Railways (JR), while the remaining 30 percent belongs to dozens of other private railway companies, especially in and around metropolitan areas.

The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as JR Group (JRグループ), is made up of six regional passenger railway companies, which are JR Hokkaido, JR East, JR Central, JR West, JR Shikoku, and JR Kyushu, and one nationwide freight railway company, JR Freight. Together they operate a nationwide network of urban, regional and inter-regional train lines, night trains and shinkansen (bullet trains).